Trust me when I say...nothing stops me from cooking if I want to! I have 2 grills (charcoal & gas), 5 slow cookers of various sizes, an electric indoor grill, 2 different sized George Forman grills (that I'm not thrilled with), a big roaster, a rotisserie oven, and an Advantium oven. I'm dead serious about cooking! My aunt was the chef for President Grover Cleveland's son...I think it's in my blood! lol And I probably have more recipes than Martha Stewart! lol It just really ticks me off that I was too stupid to check to be sure the gas line ran to this part of the house! Until today, I didn't even know the difference between a gas pipe and a water pipe...except of course that one carried gas and the other carried water! lol Our plumber came over this afternoon to check out what needs to be done, but can't do it until Friday or Saturday. Oh well! DH returned safely today from his brother's wedding in Florida. (As Martha would say, "That's a good thing!") We went out for pizza with a bunch of the kids tonight. Tomorrow night, rotisserie chicken! Yum! Garden, I'm an expert at "going with the flow". When you have 6 kids and 11 grandkids, it's go with the flow...or have a nervous breakdown! lol Just as long as I have my stove hooked up for Thanksgiving...I'll be happy! Oh...Nancy...a fireplace in the kitchen? That would be my dream! We have a gas fireplace in the livingroom. They're great...no muss no fuss! We don't use it much because we spend most of our time in the familyroom, but it's nice to have a heat source when there's a power failure during the winter. That along with the lighting from my oil lamp collection...and we're good to go! I can just hardly wait to get to use my new stove! ~Sandy~

Many breeders have been jumping on the "smaller is better" bandwagon. One, who is a client at the practice I work in, has Chihuahuas that at 8 weeks of age weight 12 ozs! There is even a breeder who is now offering Miniature Dalmatians! While I understand the market for small dogs [especially here in the land of the condo - Florida] I can't help but worry about these tiny fragile pups. Most are prone to hypoglosimia, broken bones, dental disease and, of course, cool temps. I guess the perception of these micro-breeds is that they are "forever puppies" due to their size. But I feel one should do their research before getting one and be sure of their commitment to these "special needs" dogs. Just my thoughts on the subject! nova, Mom to two GOK medium sized dogs!

Yes Marg, it has a narrow double edge. This is the best bloom I've see on it in the 5 years I've had it. Maybe it's through sulking!! jkayed, I do like the eye on this one since I love the pinks.. Well Avedon, I think I shall have a seedling blooming tomorrow. I do wish they would get started so I can see the blooms. Thank you all...Ellie

Thank-you people! We now have a fairly long dry creek which needs to handle a high volume of water. It has two levels - water comes in from the top and is "visual" and then directly under this is a hidden french drain - they all drain into a dry pond which will be filled with moisture loving native plants to clean the ground water - then it all goes back into a pipe and down the way. There are also funky tributaries to our dry creek to handle all the water coming down the bank, a few more areas need to be incorporated. It was made by the contractors and we just used rip rap but I will also add in my concrete "chunks" and the few nice found rocks the contractors dug up while grading. Eduarda, thanks for that article! It's perfect. Essentially I want mine to look like a cross between Cameron's beautiful dry creek and the Fine Gardening dry creek. Cameron, I will need to get some ideas from you about the native grasses you planted in here. Luckily I will have the ability, if necessary to "reverse" the flow of water from stored water back into the dry creek to keep everything moist. A pump and an underground water line that runs back up to the "front" of the stream will do the trick. So far our "project" is shaping up very well. A few more things need to happen before the patios go in - more retaining walls and drainage. I've got a LOT of planting to do these next few years. I have a feeling winter sowing will be my best friend!